


Electric Attraction

by BlackBirdAolen



Category: Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII Series
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Family, Living Together, Tender Feelings, Work, developing feelings, sleepy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-14
Updated: 2017-06-14
Packaged: 2018-11-14 03:07:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11199198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackBirdAolen/pseuds/BlackBirdAolen
Summary: Lightning and Cid have an agreement to live together. After another long day, Cid again finds himself at that threshold to confessing his feelings to Lightning.Got a fanfic idea for me?My deviantART - full of original fiction.Snippets and ramblings on my tumblr.





	Electric Attraction

Lightning pulled off her jacket after a long and frustrating day. There still was a ton of cleanup to do, and there was a mess developing in Nautilus _again_. Her head was buzzing with a ton of different updates, and with the sheer flood of reports having come in about Cie’th having popped up all across the world, pretty much. There was a coordinated effort to contain the waves and waves of apparitions, but it seemed to be no use. Which made Lightning wonder what the Hell was going on there.

“You look stressed out.” Cid appeared behind her, hugging her around the waist. He still was wearing his long cape, and Lightning didn’t pull out of the hug as she often would do. She just was tired and needed someone close. “I guess it was a long and very exhausting day?”

“Exhausting doesn’t even begin to describe it.” Lightning grunted softly when Cid’s hands began to expertly massage her shoulders. This was heavenly after this mess of a shift. “We still are trying to get to the core of the problem, but every lead just goes nowhere. It’s frustrating.”

Cid gently stirred her over to the couch, where Lightning got to enjoy more affection and cuddling. It had taken him quite a while to get her to this point, so it was relieving to see that even such a long and frustrating day hadn’t made her flip back to this abrasive nature of hers. She even cuddled against him a little, which made him blush just faintly. This was incredibly sweet of Lightning.

“You seem much cuddlier than usually.” Cid couldn’t help chuckling faintly. “You make me wonder what happened that you could allow your guard to drop like that.”

“Probably the fact that I fought thousands of Cie’th in a single day. That will usually do it.” Lightning yawned and stretched out on the couch. She couldn’t care right now that she was being made fun of, even if it was all light-hearted. She needed affirmation that she was alive, and that she was safe here. Nothing could hurt her here. Nothing could hurt her family here.

“Then, of course, you earned yourself that rest.” Cid brushed through her hair. His last utterance had come without any hint of sarcasm, since he knew too well how exhausting her work was. It had not only been one time when he had found her in the middle of showering, and already dozing off dangerously. To get an alert person like Lightning to be so utterly exhausted, it took quite something. Especially since she still had considerable power at her disposal.

“How was your day?” Lightning’s voice had slowed a little, a good sign that she was close to falling asleep. “Anything interesting happened?”

“Not much, really.” Cid shrugged faintly, brushing through her hair again. He just loved doing that. He adored Lightning, and how soft her hair felt between his fingers. That was another thing that he had slowly worked his way up to. “I did paperwork, and little else. It is a curse to be confined to an office, when I know that everyone is out there working their behinds off.”

Lightning gave a chuckle, then looked up at Cid. She did look content, but also a little thoughtful. “So you want to say that you rather join the frontlines than being stuck with administration?”

Cid nodded, again as earnestly as he often did. He would rather have gone out and proven that he still had a mean punch to him, instead of overseeing all the operations. There were people more accustomed to this work, and more suited to do it, in his opinion. The problem simply was that there was no one wanting to take over, so he was stuck behind the desk. And as long as he wouldn’t be assured that there was someone to take his place, he couldn’t just get up and leave. That would have been an immensely selfish thing to do, especially in a time where so many people selflessly helped others.

“But you can’t get out.” Lightning mused softly, her fingers slowly reaching up and intertwining with Cid’s. He twitched very faintly in surprise, which Lightning, thanks to the advance tiredness she felt, she didn’t register. “And I know you well enough, Cid Raines. You would never neglect your duty, and that is what makes you an ideal man for this job. Anyone else might just get up and leave everything behind.”

“I would like to doubt that, but I guess you have better knowledge about human behavior in this field. Unfortunately, that is to say.” Cid sighed quietly, then adjusted his position lightly. “Though, I have to say, that the desk job is still rather exhausting, and even more so than I would have expected.”

Lightning looked up at him again, just a tad more alert than before. She was struggling to not just fall asleep with her head in his lap, Cid could tell that much. But there wouldn’t be much of a fight with Lightning already being on the verge of just giving in. “How so?”

“Every day, my head feels like it has been utterly wrung out, until all the words and thoughts are made into written word and action.” Cid played around with a lock of Lightning’s hair. “Beyond that, it’s the ever same position, and the strain that the constant focus puts on your mind. You have to pay close attention to every single document you sign, or else, there is a weak spot for mistakes happening all over the place. That is not what I want to happen. If no one else wants to do this job, I want to at least be the one to do this job as thoroughly as possible.”

Lightning nodded faintly, and an expression of admiration spread on her face. Cid was slightly taken aback by how much more open it made Lightning seem. She was really warming up to him as of late, and even if they sometimes behaved like an old couple, they lived together out of a convenience more than anything else. At least, that was what Cid had wanted to tell himself. But beneath that, he always had been attracted to Lightning, and seeing her from this side only intensified the electric tingling he felt along his spine.

“But it still isn’t as tough as fighting off so many Cie’th. I read the report before I left work. For the night, they retreated a little, and Snow and Serah could take over to put another big dent into the lines of the Cie’th. No casualties, only half a dozen injuries, all of them either light or of medium severity, and a great number of crystalized Cie’th fragments secured for further use in weapons improvement.”

“Not to forget that at some point, their numbers are bound to dwindle and finally be reduced to zero.” Lightning yawned widely, and made no attempt to hide it. “Now, that is all from the work side. Anything else that happened that is not strictly related to work?”

 _I think I’ve fallen in love with you all over again_ , Cid wanted to say, but he held himself back at the last moment. No, this had time for a moment when Lightning would be fully there, and able to reciprocate, or ignore those feelings. If he asked Lightning about this now, he would just feel like he had cheated her into saying something, if there would be an answer at all, that was. So, he coughed lightly, looking to the side. “I had a couple of calls from old friends, but they all eventually related back to work.”

“Mhm.” Lightning rubbed her eyes lightly, then sighed quietly. “I just had a run-in with a couple of members of my former squad, but the lieutenant was nowhere to be seen. It was a bit of a pity, but then again, I preferred it that way. He probably would have made me feel like a rookie all over again.”

Cid laughed lightly, then gathered Lightning up and carried her to her room, before she had any time to protest. “You go to sleep now. And tomorrow, we will be doing this all over again. Because it’s the right thing to do.”

_And because it will help me help you. And in the end, I might just be able to prove my love to you in a way even I didn’t expect._


End file.
